


No bait

by syusuke



Series: The White Demon [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Butsuma can be an ass, Curiosity killed the cat, Family Feels, Founders Era, Gen, I just love having a canon character to use, I know nothing about Touka, Korama is Tobi's personal summon, captured tobirama, injured tobirama, no this is not up for debate, senju family drama, snow leopards summons, tobirama is a headstrong badass, young tobirama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 23:05:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17876465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syusuke/pseuds/syusuke
Summary: Have you ever wondered how Tobirama got his red marks?When they bury Itama, he doesn't have them yet. What happened?Tobirama was already a prodigy and known as one of the fastest shinobi...





	No bait

**Author's Note:**

> Just a heads up, there are quite a few changes of POV. Trying some stuff.  
> Tobirama is quite young here, I'd imagine 12 tops. So, yes. Calling him a boy is appropriate.

He had had enough. 

They had captured the second son of the Senju clan head. A bit of luck for the rogue ninjas. The boy had been on his own, most likely on his way home after battle. There were those among them who already feared his reputation, but they were trained warriors. They recognized a chance when they saw one.

It had been surprisingly easy to subdue him. They barely touched him before he collapsed in pain. Now he was locked behind bars, infused with powerful seals. His captors knew that he had no way to access his chakra in there.  
The leader had ordered his men to starve the kid and started interrogating him. If the rumours were true, then Tobirama Senju had extensive knowledge on his clan’s attack plans and secret techniques. 

“How many attack teams are currently active?”

“One less.”

He was met with a cold hard stare when he focused on the scrawny boy at his feet. He was shivering slightly, kneeling on the ground, forced to remain in that position by the chains binding him. Dried blood covered his clothes and a fresh trickle rolled down his neck. They had left him in the cell for two days. 

“Fine, we’ll do this the hard way. But just so you know, we offered to let you go for a reasonable price. Your clan refused, before even knowing the amount. So unless you start giving me some good information, it’s not worth my time to keep you alive.”

Tobirama laughed, a small humorless thing. 

§§

“I don’t care what father says. Let me through, Touka.”

The cousins stared at each other. Neither blinking. Neither moving.

“This is not only about Butsuma. The Senju do NOT bargain. Never. A life can not be bought.”

Hashirama forcefully shoved her out of the way. His mokuton effectively pinned her down. He expected a fight. He knew that his father had ordered Touka to keep an eye on him. She was the strongest kunoichi they had and if anyone could convince her to bare children, she would be just as fiercely protective as she was with Tobirama. So when she quietly gave in, Hashirama saw through it. She wanted to run to Tobirama’s rescue as much as he wanted. 

“He will never forgive you, if you get caught too. You’re the clan heir. You have responsibilities. Tobirama would want you to stay and protect the clan.”

When Hashirama wordlessly started to collect his battle gear, Touka accepted it. 

“We don’t know this particular group. They should be somewhere towards the southern border, possibly as far as the Nara’s territory. They must be adept at hiding their chakra signatures, at least A-rank shinobi. A smaller group, I’d say less than 5. Otherwise they couldn’t have surprised Tobi. His mission was a secret, no one knows except Butsuma. They never considered anyone else, only Tobirama had the right skill set for it. And Hashi..”

“I know. But I have to try.”

§§

Tobirama woke up in his room in the Senju compound. Everything was tidy. His clothes for the day were laid out on a chair. The armor was nowhere in sight.

He looked down at himself. Two small bodies forced him to stay still. Kawarama to his left. Itama more on top of him than his right side. They had terrible bed-heads. The scene was familiar, calm, reassuring. Nothing hurt and he was surrounded by family.

Suddenly his head began pounding and it was as if his whole room disappeared. He couldn’t focuse on anything, there was nothing he could grasp and everything came crashing down around him. His head hurt, it was so cold and he couldn’t sense. He couldn’t sense anything.

“Yamanaka, did you get anything?”

“Only a vague location. Hidden in the forest north from here. The path is full of traps and one of them has summons spread all over the place. I think some kind of bird.”

“You’ve been at it for hours and that’s everything?”

“...Let me use poison next time. He can’t fight against that.”

“Just use your genjutsu again. We don’t have that much poison left.”

“Look, I’m telling you. This brat is consciously fighting against my jutsu. The only reason I even have a chance, is because his chakra is sealed.”

Tobirama heard them talking, but couldn’t make out the words. He was still bound to a chair. Warm fluid was dripping down his chin. Bleeding. At least the cuts on his cheeks were closing. He’ll try again. Later. Fighting was so much easier without avoiding death.

§§

“No. Leave our lands immediately.”

The leader of the rogue ninjas was baffled. He had a hard time processing this.

“It’s only a matter of days until I have the intel. We had a deal.”

The Nara shook his head. 

“The deal was four days. In exchange for intel on the neighbouring clans. You said you have a Senju. Yet, your time is up and you did not bring me anything of interest. Maybe you are lying and there is no prisoner, but even if there is. I know your methods, you should have any information you could possibly want. Unless you have a member of the main family and I want no part in that.”

One after another the rouge ninjas disappeared, only the leader remaining. He bowed his head respectfully.

“We will leave. I can tell you one thing at least. The Senju’s chain of command isn’t as straightforward as most clans. Butsuma Senju is the clan head and leads the charges, but the sudden spike in success they had, is due to the changes in strategy. His sons are still developping. I wanted to offer you one of them, but now that chance is lost.”

The Nara waited exactly two minutes before he went after them. He was sure they had the younger Senju brother. He didn’t want to anger the Senju, but maybe he could help them and gain a favor. There was nothing that fascinated him more than the brilliant mind of Tobirama Senju and he was so close to meeting him. Shikaro had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

§§

“Pack up. We need to move. They will check the area for us and I want to be gone by then.”

“But Rikko, what about the brat?”

The team leader fixed his subordinates with an icy stare. He shoved a bag in his hands and went to the cell himself. The young Senju was bound to a chair, he was paler than before, losing blood from a cut on his chin. His breathing was even, he seemed to be out. They had sold his armor to the highest bidder. It had been a good bargain. The faceguard had been more difficult, but there had been an Uchiha who paid handsomely for such a trophy. So Tobirama was only wearing a thin undershirt and sturdy pants. They had taken his sandals after his first try to escape. To be fair, he should be completely unable to move. No food. Very little water. Bound in the same position for a whole day. His muscles should be too stiff, his mind too clouded. 

Rikko was careful nonetheless. One of his men died by the brat’s hands. He would not underestimate him, no matter his state. He blindfolded him, then put a gag in his mouth. The boy stirred, struggling against his bonds. 

“Don’t move. Do as I say. I will take off your bindings and you will stand up. Then you’ll let me cuff your hands behind your back and we will walk out of here. Understood?”

Tobirama nodded.

“If you resist in any way, I will blind you permanently.”

Rikko saw how his prisoner tensed up. Yamanaka didn’t get all that much intel on the Senju in general, but he’d seen Tobirama’s personal weaknesses all too well. No matter how fiercely the Senju had fought against the genjutsu, he couldn’t protect all his secrets at once. So Rikko knew that Tobirama feared nothing more than losing his brother and cousin. But on a physical level, the only threat that worked on him was blindness. Tobirama feared that handicap more than any other.

The transition went smoothly. Tobirama did as Rikko said and soon they walked out of the cave. Once outside Rikko shoved him to the ground. With his hands bound Tobirama could not break his fall and landed face first in the dirt. Rikko waited, he waited for his men to look at the helpless mess the Senju was.

“We have to carry him. I made sure he can’t make any noise. If he gives you trouble, do as you please. Under no circumstances can you unbind him or take off the blindfold. But we need him alive. I found another clan who wants him.”

§§

Shikaro was surprised. He had seen Tobirama in battle before. He had felt like a god, surrounded by water and fighting multiple enemies at once. Shikaro had seen how he combined his water dragons with sparks of lightning, paralyzing anyone nearby in seconds. He had been in awe. Most amazingly he had seen his speed, or rather he hadn’t been able to keep up with it. How could anyone capture this force of nature?

He was a miserable sight now. Stripped of his armor and anything with a Senju crest on it, blindfolded, gagged, hands bound. He looked every bit the prisoner he was. He was covered in dried blood, skin a sick-ish grey. The only thing that gave away how dangerous he was, were the numerous chakra seals painted on his clothes and skin. It looked awkward when Rikko pulled him up and shoved him over another man’s shoulder. Tobirama might be still growing but he was already taller than his captors. Shikaro didn’t miss how tense the ninjas were. He almost forgot to hide deeper in his tree, when he realized they moved towards him.

§§

Tobirama hated his situation. Someone carried him.

He could barely move his hands. There was no way to form seals and he had only one chance to use his chakra. He had to make it count. The seals weren’t good enough. He had figured it out when he was trapped in the genjutsu. It was possible to access small parts of his chakra and maybe if he could get the timing right, he could destroy the seals with a chakra overload. Maybe. If it went wrong, he could fry his own nerve endings and lose any mobility in his limbs. So he filed that away under last resort.

There was only one sense that currently seemed trustworthy. Smell. There had been a hint of pine cones earlier. So far there hadn’t been anything to help him locate his whereabouts. Different plants and trees had to be limited to a certain area, but it smelled like any forest south to the Senju borders. And he had already figured out that much.

When the group made camp he had been discarded. He had tried to get into a more comfortable position, a kick to his stomach made him stop though. He had almost forgotten, that he wasn’t a hostage. They had no reason to treat him with any decency. To them he was like a scroll with intel and they had to crack the seal. They didn’t need his body, only his mind.

He could only blame himself for that. They had given him multiple chances to play along. He could have pretended to give in and made this easier on himself. One of them had tried to convince him to join their group, argueing that his clan had betrayed him. Tobirama regretted it now. It would have given him better options for his escape. But he was too tired. After the undercover mission before this disaster, he didn’t have the mental agility to play that game. He had been exhausted, still was. Honestly, he had hoped that they’d kill him for being a nuisance.  
There was not all that much to live for anymore, not so shortly after Itama’s death.  
The clan didn’t need him.  
They had Hashirama.

§§

“Scatter! I’ll take him. Split up, now.”

Tobirama suddenly felt the sensation of falling. A split second later he collided with someone and was carried away. Much quicker than before.

He heard metal clashing together. Something or someone was crashing into the ground. The whizzing of whire, battle sounds? The sounds were behind them and started to fade already. This was his chance, it had to be.  
Whoever carried him had to be focused on th enemy behind them. It was now or never. He closed his eyes, he needed every bit of concentration and control he could muster. If he was correct there were seven seals on him. One for every arm and leg. One on his stomach, another on his back. The last one just below his throat. The second he’d do this, his captor would know. He had to be fast. Dispell the seals, slice the bindings with his sweat and get as far away as possible.

§§

He couldn’t help but stare. 

Shikaro did not quite understand what happened. A minute ago the group of rogues had been running a hundred meters or so in front of him. Now their leader was heading back with Tobirama on his shoulder, while it seemed like the forest itself attacked his team. Branches wrapped around them, roots held them down, leaves whirled ‘round blocking their sights.

In the split second it took Shikaro to hide deeper in the leaves, something odd happened. Rikko lost hold of his prisoner and he went to grab him again. But instead of a weak half-dead body he was met by a hand thinnly coated in lightning chakra. The rouge ninja was dead before he could make any attempt to dodge. Then Tobirama disappeared into thin air. 

“What the.. where?”

But Shikaro was too young and too curios for his own good. He never saw Tobirama coming. And for Tobirama anyone was an enemy right now.

 

§§

 

“Where is he? Where did you hide my brother?”

Tobirama staggered forward. He’d never thought he could miss that annoying loud voice. Hashirama only had to wait a little longer. He was coming, just a few more steps. He’d never admit how calming it was to feel his brother’s bright chakra. But it was so hard to concentrate, he still had poison in his system and barely any chakra left. His body was at its limit. Only a little further..

He felt two chakra signatures in front of him. Hashirama and someone else. Someone who was terrified.

“WHERE?!”

Tobirama heard the distinct sound of the Mokuton. Probably a cell? No, no, NO! He felt his chakra moving away. He would never catch up. He had to do something. He touched his fingers to his chin to get blood and quickly pressed his open palm to the ground. A snow leopard appeared, the smallest of his summons. The cub, Korama. He didn’t have any chakra left now, he could only hope.

“Hashi... ‘m here.”

 

§§

 

“..without permission. Anything could have happened! It was irresponsible and unnecessary! He got away on his own. He would have been back. And you, Touka. YOU were supposed to watch him. Both of you, out. Out of my house.”

“But father..” “Butsuma-sama..”

“No, this is your punishment. Neither of you is allowed to go near him. Go and train.”

“I don’t care what you say! I WILL see my brother!”

“...”

“Hashi, let’s go.”

“Touka...”

“I know. I know. Let’s go.”

 

Tobirama smiled softly. This was real. Not the perfect fantasy of a genjutsu. Itama and Kawarama couldn’t sleep by his side. He’d seen them buried. But his big brother was still fighting with their father and Touka held him back, when Tobirama couldn’t. 

The small licks were new though and he opened his eyes to curious dark gray ones. They would lighten up and the fluffy white fur would darken and starting to show the distinct markings. But for now Tobirama didn’t mind having a little furball by his side. He was sure Korama would become a powerful and loyal summon.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, I love this character. So I'll make him suffer, maybe, definitely, a lot. That's what I do, you can ask Kakashi.
> 
> For this piece though, you should probably know a few of my headcanons:  
> \- Tobirama is the strongest sensory type ninja, we've ever met. Cutting him off from his chakra is a way of torture. It's like putting him in a sensory deprivation tank.  
> \- He is full of spite. Whenever he is told that he can't do anything, he reacts in this "watch me" way.  
> \- Having learned so much about chakra and being able to understand it even better through his sensing abilities, he also has the confidence to work on anything. As in: "I don't know how this works. But how hard can it be?"  
> \- Ah and the summons, on the wiki it says that he can summon snow leopards. I quite like the idea, because Tobirama has this energy of a cat? Yeah, that sounds weird, doesn't it.. He goes non-verbal pretty quickly and lets his actions speak. I always thought his body language is similar to a cat. A big and powerful one.


End file.
